The Weekly Scorecard: Tracking Unit Print Sales for Week Ending April 26, 2015

Unit sales of print books rose 3% in the week ended Apr. 26, 2015, compared to the similar week last year, at outlets that report to Nielsen BookScan. A 6% increase in sales through the retail & club channel offset a 14% decline in sales through the mass merchandisers. Strong debuts by several titles led to gains in the adult fiction and nonfiction segments. Units rose 7% in adult fiction, as David Baldacci’s Memory Man sold more than 60,000 copies in its first week, almost double the sales of The Girl on the Train , by Paula Hawkins, which was in second place on the fiction list. The Bone Tree, by Greg Iles, landed in fifth place on the list, selling more than 20,000 copies in its initial week of sale. The 5% unit gain in adult nonfiction was spurred by three new titles hitting high on the list. Connor Franta’s A Work in Progress was #1 in the week, selling almost 33,000 copies. The Whole 30, by Melissa and Dallas Hartwig, debuted at #3, with about 28,000 copies sold, while And the Good News Is..., by Dana Perino, came in fourth, selling just under 26,000 copies. The lack of new hits continued to plague the juvenile fiction segment, where units dropped 6% in week 17 of 2015, compared to the week ended Apr. 27, 2014.

Unit Sales of Print Books by Channel

Unit Sales of Print Books by Category

Unit Sales of Print Books by Format

Source: Nielsen BookScan and Publishers Weekly. Nielsen BookScan’s U.S. Consumer Market Panel covers approximately 80% of the print book market and continues to grow.